Black Nutrition: Are You Eating The Right Diet?

Blacks have dietary preferences born from cultural influence. A study conducted on 7,000 men and women over 45 years living across the U.S. found that Black participants were more likely to eat a diet comprising highly processed foods compared to their White counterparts. Further, 46% of Blacks and 33% of Whites developed hypertension, with diet being the reason for much of the disparity.

A Brief History of the African American Diet

According to Thomas LaVeist, a dean and professor of health policy and management at Tulane University, “diet is cultural.” During slavery, African ancestors carried with them food traditions to America. Over time, the diet became greatly influenced by the English settlers and Native Americans’ food culture.

One great traditional African American cuisine is soul food. This type of meal was birthed out of survival. Black slaves were forced to make do with the little food they got handed to them.Also known as the “Southern food”, it was later carried to other parts of America during the Great Migration of the early to mid-20th century.

Soul food is an integral part of Black food culture and symbolizes family, togetherness, and belonging. The meals include simple family dinners of fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, sweet potato pie, rice, and beans. However, a majority of the soul food enjoyed today contains processed meats, fried foods, trans fats, and sweetened beverages. This diet that once helped sustain African Americans is now linked to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and kidney failure, resulting in high amputation rates.

In 1965, Blacks were twice as likely as whites to eat a diet that meets the recommended guidelines for fat, fiber, fruit, and vegetables. However, by 1996, 28% of African Americans were reported to have a poor quality diet compared to 16% of Whites, and 14% of other races. The dietary shift was majorly driven by a high cost of fresh fruit, vegetables, and lean cuts of meat. Factors like the availability of packaged and processed foods, the common practice of frying food, and using fats in cooking also played a significant part.

Eating Healthy and Maintaining the Black Food Culture

Encouraging a healthy diet goes a long way in amputation prevention. Many Blacks have a perception that eating healthy means giving up on soul food, and the narrative is causing more harm than good.Studies show that approximately 47.8% of African Americans are obese compared to 32.6% of Whites.

Blacks are at a greater risk of stroke,hypertension, diabetes, and pulmonary artery disease (PAD) – a leading cause of the high lower limb amputation rates among Black Americans. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black Americans are twice as likely to develop PAD as any other race. Majority of African Americans with diabetes and PAD lack access to quality healthcare. Many are losing limbs due to limited wound care facilities, as well as few wound care specialists, podiatrists, and vascular surgeons in the healthcare space.

While social, health and economic disparities stemming from systemic racism are to blame, poor dietary choices cannot be ignored. Healthy nutrition helps reduce morbidity, particularly by preventing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses.

SaraBaer-Sinnott, president of Oldways - a nonprofit organization renowned for creating culturally specific dietary guidelines - believes it’s time for Black Americans to go back to their real roots. She suggests adopting a cultural model based on the traditional diets of the African diaspora. Research published in a 2010 volume of the Journal of Biomedical Science observed that,as younger populations shift from traditional to non-traditional lifestyles,weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels increase - all risk factors for limb loss.

Food historian, Adrian Miller, encourages moderation as one sure way to combat unhealthy diets among Blacks. Further, he advises reserving certain foods only for celebrations and not as a daily meal.

Overall, Blacks tend to buy less ready-to-eat foods compared to European Americans. They prefer to have their food made from scratch, making it easy to incorporate a healthy diet plan. By introducing leafy vegetables, nuts, and practicing less frying, more nutritional balance can be brought to the African American diet.

There is a high rate of increased obesity and high blood pressure, along with the deaths from diabetes-related complications, heart disease, and kidney failure. This has spurred government agencies to take a harder look at these problems. As a result, many U.S.agencies have created national initiatives to improve the diet quality and the overall health of African Americans.

Leveraging Technology for Amputation Prevention  

By bringing together healthcare professionals such as podiatrists, vascular surgeons, and wound care specialists throughout the country, The Wound Docs is at the forefront of the amputation prevention battle. The Wound Docs is leveraging the power of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced biologics (skin substitutes) to significantly improve patient outcomes in wound care for African Americans.